Raina had fallen to her knees with her hands clasped over her mouth.  She was staring down at Jane’s remains with gaping eyes.  Her hand slipped into Jane’s shirt and came out with an old brass locket.

            “What the hell happened?”

            I turned around to see the two slayers and Regina - still in wolf form - walking towards us.  It was Raina’s friend who had spoken.  Wiping the remaining ashes from my hands, I answered, “I had no choice.  She was determined to hunt down and kill Raina.  I could not let that happen.”

            Suddenly I felt a force tugging on me.  Someone was coming.  Wait … Several vampires were coming.  They had felt the serge of Jane’s death and they were coming to find the culprit.  As they got closer I could feel that Timothy was among them.  As was Felix.

            “That was really noble of you brother.  Stupid, but noble.”  I looked over to see Sarah standing beside me.  I should not have been surprised that she had been nearby.  She had probably witnessed everything.  “Aww, I hope they don’t put you to death for this.  That would suuuuuck.”  She smiled.  “Pun intended.”

            “Oh … my … God.”  Raina still sat on the ground with Jane’s locket in her hands.  Only now it was open.  “Who is this Alex?”  She held it out to me and showed me what was inside.  On one side there was a photo of a couple I did not recognize, but on the other side there was a photo of Jane and Milo.  “Is that Milo?  Is that the vampire I killed?”

            She looked so distraught that I wish I could have lied to her and told her it was no one.  But I could never lie to Raina, even if it was for the best.  “Yes it is.  Why do you ask?”

            “That’s him!”  Him?  I hadn’t the faintest idea of what she was talking about.  Nor did anyone else.  “Him.  The vampire from my dream!  The one who helped my family!  Oh my God … He’s the one I killed?  How … how did this happen?”

            Raina began to cry.  I moved closer to her and tried to place my hand on her shoulder but she just pushed me away.

            “You knew him Alex?”

Once more I wish I could have lied since the truth would only hurt her.  I had been keeping secrets from her.  I regretted that more than anything.  “Yes, I knew him.  He and your father had the same maker.”

“Did you know my father?”  Her hopeful eyes looked up at me.  I believe this was the first time she wanted me to say yes.  If only I could have.

“No.  Milo never told me about him.  I am sorry.”

“Well, well, well.  Who do we have here, Alexander?”

We all turned to see Timothy kicking at Jane’s remains.  Raina hit his foot away.  “Don’t do that!  That’s a person you heartless bastard!”

Timothy laughed.  “Sweetheart, that is not a person.  That is a vampire.  I know the difference.  Now, who is it?”

It was my responsibility to answer.  “Jane Fairbairn.”

Timothy’s eyes lit up.  He was a little too overjoyed with this outcome.  “Wow.  Not even I will be able to get you out of this one.  Now, tell me something, Alexander, was it because she kidnapped your slayer or because she was friends with Tobias?”

I was not in the mood to listen to his badgering.  Out of fury, I grabbed Timothy by his collar and tossed him with everything I had.  He ended up three buildings away.  Everyone stared in wonder.  When Timothy returned even he looked surprised, but no one said anything.

“Damn it, Taryn!  What did you do?”  Raina’s slayer friend was yelling at his comrade.  She appeared to have just put a phone in her pocket.

“What I had to do!  Our loyalty is still to Edgar and our slayer society.  Never forget that Kai.  Especially since someone is always listening.”  Her eyes drifted over to Sarah and Timothy, and then over to the new vampire in our presence.  Felix had finally arrived.  The vampire was trying to hide his surprise in seeing me alive and another vampire’s ashes on the ground, but I could feel it.  Whenever I drank Raina’s blood I could feel all emotions.

“Who is this?”

Sarah smiled ecstatically.  “That would be Jane Fairbairn.  You knew her, didn’t you Felix?”

Felix shook his head.  “There is no way this could be Jane Fairbairn.  Alexander could never kill Jane.  He is not strong enough.”

I almost felt insulted, but it was true.  I was able to kill Jane for two reasons.  One was because Raina had given me her blood and it had prevented Jane from killing me.  The other was because Jane had given up in the end.  She was ready to die.  I life without Milo was nothing to her.  She would rather not exist than exist without him.

“I am afraid it is true.  Jane Fairbairn is no more.”

Felix’s eyes began to flicker red but he held them back.  He would not show us any sign of weakness.  I am sure that the only thing that stopped him from showing any anger was knowing that he may have lost Jane but his plan had not failed.  Killing another vampire without reasonable cause was a punishable offense.  I was now doomed for death.

“Well Timothy, you are the so-called leader here.  What do you plan to do about this?”

There was no doubt in Timothy’s mind what he had to do.  He closed his eyes and concentrated, and within moments two more vampires were among us.  I looked down at Raina who had not moved from the ground.  She was looking up at me with frightened eyes.  She knew what was about to happen.

With a motion of Timothy’s hand the two new vampires each grabbed one of my arms and pulled them back, forcing me to kneel to the ground.  Timothy then walked over to me and recited my rights.  I could not look at him without showing my disgust in having him decide my fate.  If it was anyone else, even Zachary, I would not have minded so much.  But Timothy … had once been friend.  My best friend.  He was the only man in my long life I had ever relied on, ever bonded with, and he was now telling me that I was going to die.  It just goes to show that life will take you down many surprising roads.  Two-hundred years ago I would have never thought that Timothy would be putting me to death.

“Alexander Williams, you have killed one of your own kind in cold blood for no plausible reason.  This offense is punishable by death.”  I heard Raina begin to scream at Timothy but he would not stop speaking.  I glanced over slightly and saw Raina leaping towards me but the two slayers were holding her back while Regina - still in wolf form - stood in front of her, guarding her.  One of the vampires snapped my head back towards Timothy, holding it so I was forced to look the vampire in the eye.  His face showed no joy.  “You will be held in lockdown tonight while your fate is decided.  Punishment will be carried out no later than tomorrow evening.”  He looked away from me and towards the two vampires holding me still.  “Take him away.”

They did as they were instructed.  “ALEX!!”  The sound of Raina’s screams echoed in my ears as they carried me off into the night.

They locked me in a stone room deep in the underground.  It smelled of death.  An iron door was the only thing blocking me from the outside world.  It would not be hard to get through the door; it was what was on the other side of it that was the real challenge.  Two vampires were stationed directly outside of my prison and several others were stationed all the way from here to the exit.  These were not weak vampires either.  All were at least a century old.  Most vampires around here that age had been brought by Felix and were extremely loyal to him, even after he left.  He was not going to take any chances with me; that was certain.

I was alone for the remainder of the night, but just after dawn the iron door opened and Timothy appeared from the other side.  I knew that someone would come in to tell me my fate, but I never expected it would be him.  We had barely spoken in two-hundred years, but I suppose this was the last moment he would ever have to say anything to me.  He might as well let it all out.

I did not stand as Timothy approached me.  I did not see a reason to ever stand again.  They would drag me out of here tomorrow night on my knees and I was alright with that.  But even with death right there knocking on my door I still only had one thing on my mind.  “Is Raina alright?”

“Are you really concerned about her right now?  What about yourself?”  I did not say anything.  I just sat there patiently, waiting for my answer.  “Of course, you know she is fine.  We are letting the slayers deal with her.  Each his own, that is the vampire way.  Besides, she is not the one who killed someone in cold blood here.  You are.”

I was too tired to argue with him.  “Are you not here to tell me my punishment?  Please just get on with it so that I may rest in peace.”

Timothy laughed.  “None of us will ever rest in peace Alexander.  I do not have to tell you that.”

I did not respond.  Of course I knew that.  That was part of the reason why I had never killed myself in the past.  I did not want to not exist.  The most ironic part of it all was that for the first time in a long time I actually wanted to live.  I wanted to stay in this world and watch Raina grow old.  And once she left this world I wanted to go with her.  I truly did not want it to end like this.

“You will be executed tomorrow at dawn.  By sunlight.”

Sunlight.  It would be a quicker death than I had expected.  I suppose there should be some joy in that, but if there was I could not find it.  I reflected with my eyes closed for a moment, and when I opened them again I noticed that Timothy had not gone.  He seemed to be waiting for something.

“Is there something I can help you with, Timothy?”

“What are you doing, Alexander?”

I was puzzled.  “What do you mean?  I am sitting here waiting for death.  Is there something else I should be doing?”

“Yes!  You should be getting the bloody hell out of here!  I have seen what that hybrid blood does to you!  You know you are strong enough to escape so why the hell are you still here?”

My eyes widened.  I was shocked.  Throughout our entire vampire lives Timothy had never shown me the slightest bit of compassion.  I did not understand where this concern was coming from.  “I … cannot get out of here.  If I could I would but her blood does not work like that.  Yes, I am stronger but there are at least ten older vampires out there.  There is no way I can defeat them all to get out of here.”

“There are only five.”

I laughed.  “Then they are hidden even from you.  Her blood heightens my senses more than my strength and I can feel every one of their auras pulling on me even as we speak.  Felix has made damn sure that I will never get out of here alive.”

“Urrrrruuuugh!”  Timothy grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me to the other side of the room, breaking through a layer of the thick stone.  The moment my body hit the ground Timothy had me back in his grasp and he pulled me to my feet, screaming into my face.  “Do not be a fool!  Yes, Felix has a plan to kill us all but this was not just him.  Zachary set you up!  There are still a number of vampires that should have been before you!  His line is no where near being wiped out yet!”

I was not surprised.  After centuries of accumulating minions who, in turn, created their own minions, it was impossible to say how many vampires out there were directly related to Zachary.  It was at least hundreds if not more.

“When he discovered you were here he brought me for the soul purpose of reigning in Felix.  He knew that if I challenged Peter Felix would come.  It was not until then that Felix decided to kill two birds with one stone and dispose of you while here.”

There may have been some truth in Timothy’s words but his story still had many holes.  “You are giving Zachary more credit than he deserves.”

“It is true!  Even I was a pawn in his stupid game.  And now I am stuck here putting you to death.  He loves the irony of it all.  Two friends destined to become enemies …” His voice faded off as he released me from his grasp.

I could not move from the spot where he had left me.  I still did not know if I believed him but I could not deny that it was all possible.  Ever since I left him, Zachary has made my life miserable in hopes of bringing me back under his power, but perhaps he got bored of that and decided that all he wanted was my true death.  But what about Timothy?  He never hid his detest for me, so why the sudden change of heart?  I never even knew why he detested me so much in the first place.  As humans we were friends but the moment he became a vampire a war ensued between us.  If there was ever a chance for me to get answers it was now.

“Why do you hate me Timothy?”

He turned to me with glowing eyes.  “Because it is your fault I became what I am.”

I could feel my un-beating heart ache slightly in my chest.  I tried to bring my hand up to clutch it but I could not move.  Timothy blamed me for his becoming a vampire.  But why?  “I am not the one who changed you Timothy.  I was not even there.”

The angry vampire was not deterred.  “Be that as it may, it is still your fault.  If you had not run away with that dim-witted girl then she would not have been changed and she would have never attacked me.  If it was not for my concern for you I would not have gone to her that night.  When I saw her all ragged and alone I thought you were in trouble.  No matter how you look at it my becoming a vampire is your fault.  I loved you like a brother and you cursed me.  Even now you will not even acknowledge what you have done.”

For the first time in my long life my eyes had been opened.  It was my fault Timothy became what he is.  Because of me the only two people I had loved during my human life had been cursed.  I was a monster.  “Timothy, I …”

My old friend smirked.  “The only joy I have ever felt in my life as a vampire is knowing that Rachel betrayed you.”  He glanced over at me, eyes flaring.

I edged towards him ever so slightly, curious about the words he spoke.  “What?”

His smirk continued to grow.  “What?  You didn’t know?  She made a deal with Zachary just before she died.  There is a vampire who is trying to find a way to end the curse and turn us back into humans.  Once they discover how Rachel’s name was supposed to have been the first on the list.  All she had to do was leave.  Disappear from existence.  But Zachary has never been a man of his word.  He planned to have her killed the entire time.  For fun, if not for anything else.”

I did not believe it.  “You are lying.  Rachel asked me to leave with her.  Why would she do that if she had this deal with Zachary?”

Timothy did not even take a moment to breathe.  He already knew the answer.  “Because Rachel was a selfish bitch.  She never thought that you would actually leave.  She just wanted you to pine away for her by making you believe that she still loved you.  I tried to tell you when we were human but you would not listen.  Rachel only ever loved one person, and that was herself.  You were just the man she married to make her father angry.”

“LIAR!”  I lunged forward and grabbed Timothy, throwing both of us against the wall.

He continued to smile, even as my fangs emerged.  “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

I could not take his ridicule any longer.  I used my fangs to rip open the flesh on his neck and began sucking him dry.  I had barely begun when I forced myself to stop and threw him to the ground.  As angry as I was I could never kill Timothy.  I did not have it in me.

The horrible vampire continued to laugh as he lay wounded on the floor.  I could not even look at him without feeling so much regret.  I had been such a fool.  “You did not come here to make peace with me, did you Timothy?  You came here to mock me.”

I could feel his smile grow even without looking at his face.  “It took you this long to figure that out?  I may have never wanted you to die by my hand Alexander, but I have always wanted you to die.”

I still did not know if I believed everything Timothy had said to me, but that was not what was important on my last day of life.  No matter how angry and betrayed I felt I needed to make amends.

I held my wrist out to my onetime friend in an attempt to make peace, but he did not take it.  “I am truly sorry for what I did to you, Timothy.  No one deserves the horrible fate the two of us have been dealt.”

Still refusing to look at him, I continued to hold my wrist out, offering him my blood.  “I do not need your charity.”

When I finally turned towards him, Timothy was standing by the door with his hand on the handle.  For the first time in centuries I looked the man directly in the eye, trying to see what was truly there.  I had hoped to find some forgiveness while in those eyes but the only thing I could find was hatred.

“You and I are not the same.  You want to know why?”  I did not answer but he continued nonetheless.  “It is because when you were changed you had nothing to lose.  Your mother died when you were nothing more than an infant, then your grandfather died like any man his age would, and Rachel, well, she was changed with you.  I was your only friend and we had not spoken in five years.  Other than me you left no one behind.  Me on the other hand, I lost everything.  My family, my friends, the entire town I had grown up with, they all shunned me when they saw what I had become.  My father, my mother, even my sister would not come near me.  They died thinking I was a monster.  Now, tell me something, Alexander.  How many people that you loved died thinking that about you?”

He waited for me to speak but I had no answer for him.  My eyes moved to the floor.  What he spoke now was the truth.  I never realized how lucky I had been.  I was changed without leaving anyone behind.  Maybe that was why I had embraced it so willingly.  I truly was a monster.  When I looked up again Timothy was gone.  I always knew I would feel hatred when I died but I never thought it would be towards myself.  I had ruined the lives of everyone I had ever cared for.  Maybe my execution was for the best.  This way I could never hurt Raina like I had hurt the others.  Still, I hated leaving her behind.  Especially with angry vampires like Timothy around, who would do anything they could to hurt me, even after my death.

Raina … I beg of you … if you can then you must run away from here.  Run away and never look back.  But even I knew that running was hopeless.  Eventually you would always be found, and they would get exactly what they wanted.  True death …